This is Africa

Trust in God but fasten your camel well. Saladin, a lovely gentle tomcat had diarrhoea. The vet advised me not to give him any food for 24 hrs. It was so tough, Saladin just loves to eat and he doesn't need to "watch his figure". Anyhow, after nearly 20 hrs he got fed up, why stay in a house where there is nothing to eat and as I wouldn't let him walk out through the front door, he felt forced to climb from the roof, jump onto the awning. A boy discovered him and informed me. With the aid of a ladder I managed to take my little treasure safely down and convince him of my never ending love and that I am happy to provide food for him. Eileen and Allan look like twins, slim little tigers, approx. 6 months old. I found them one day as tiny baby cats lying in a cardboard box in front of my entrance door. I was aware they'll die if I don't offer them "asylum". At the vet's I happened to see a box with baby-milk powder, fairly expensive (75 Dinar including a bottle for feeding). Still, money well spent, I  decided. A lot of work, not just a case of 3 meals a day but every 4 hrs, longer break at night. After a while the little ones started "to fight" who can have the milk bottle first. Whenever Allan and Eileen see me they immediately start purring, always happy to see their "mum". I get a lot of love from my little fur-angels. Those who throw stones at cats, etc. don't know what they are missing!  Now, as autumn started, nights are already getting cold, it is the time of coughing, sneezing, also for cats. One approx. 6 months old cat, living outside, a regular customer at my cats' table, already suffered from a bad cold. One day she looked just awful, from the head down to her front leg covered in blood. I was shocked to see her like that and wondered what happened. Then I discovered that heavy sneezing must have caused this (like we sometimes get a bleeding nose). Thinking if kids/folks view it they may believe she is perhaps dangerous, better kill her; I needed a quick solution, possibly without consulting a vet. We asked a pharmacist whether he got a cough mixture suitable for babies and thus perhaps also for cats. Luckily it did work. When I tried to save an severely injured cat (thought she had been hit by a car, but the x-ray proofed it was the bullet of an air-gun) frightened to death she bit me and I ended up with a large blue spot. The vet advised me to get vaccinated against rabbis, though I felt sure her understandable fear was the sole reason she bit me, I followed the vet's advice and was surprised to find this vaccination (in a small hospital) was free of charge. Thank you Tunisia. Unfortunately it was not possible to save the cat's life. The bullet paralysed her back legs, an operation would be difficult and only pos. in Europe, perhaps, the clinic stated. So sad. - Lady: "Why do you throw your wrapping onto the pavement, don't you love your town?" Boy: "This isn't my town." Lady: "When then are you here?" Would it have made any difference if the question had been, don't you love your country? When I ask children to keep their town/ country clean, they suggest I should call the police and they make rude comments. A lot of education is required, if parents can't do this, then teachers are all the more demanded. Yet I've seen kids leaving  grammar school and dropping their fruit peelings right in front of the entrance door to the school yard. Don't they teach the importance of environment protection? It would be a good idea to make school classes collect rubbish off streets, let's say one day a month. It can raise their awareness of pollution. I've seen a cow's skull lying on the ground at a distance of approx. 12 meters from a rubbish container, I guess the law doesn't explicitly state that's not allowed? Folks here generally seem to believe various laws and regulations are just a non-binding suggestion; like collective taxi (mini buses) drivers wearing seat belts. Well they do, just to keep the police happy, as soon as the police is out of sight, they happily continue without and phoning while driving is very common. When you talk to a driver, he can't reply without looking at you (instead of concentrating on the traffic). During a heated discussion he will in addition start talking with his hands. This is just one of the reasons why I prefer travelling by bus, whenever possible. In addition the buses provide a safer journey,  better drivers. - As the weather is getting quite cold, stormy, unpleasant, in Europe and other parts of the world, we can still enjoy the sunshine at a pleasant temperature and tourists are very welcome to share it with the folks here.

Tee